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I would like to apologize. I'm sorry this thread went so far down the list without any comments. :(

So, this is a 4th Gen team, right? Well, before I get into rating your Pokemon, I'd like to touch base with you on a few things. First of all, all of your Pokemon (including Gardevoir), save Metagross (and Gengar), are UU (underused). Which is absolutely fine, but you'd have to get rid of Metagross to play in it, because Metagross actually falls into the OU (overused) tier, which is standard play. If you want a little more help in identifying what tiers are look here. Second, your team is very weak to Water. So Rotom-W, Gyarados, Swampert, and the likes are going to wipe out half your team with minimal effort. You might want to look into getting a Pokemon that resists it. Also, anything that's a Fighting type is going to give your team a hard time as the only thing that resists Fighting is Heracross. I would say that Conkeldurr is a threat, but again, I'm not really sure if this is a 4th or 5th Gen team. On a good note, you do have some very nice resistances to Poison, Bug, Rock, Dark, and Ice.. just to name a few. So, well done! :) Oh, and we need the EVs of your Pokemon. If you don't know what EVs are, you can read about them here.

Now, I would love to go on to rate your Pokemon individually, but without certain information it's, more or less, impossible. Your Bastiodon, for example.

Bastiodon is a UU Pokemon, which is okay, *if* you want to play in UU. If you want to play in OU, than I would recommend replacing Bastiodon with Heatran. Heatran can do everything that Bastiondon can do, but better. Bastiodon's typing is sub-par at best, its movepool is mediocre, and it's stats, save defenses, are rubbish. To be blunt, Heatran just has more going for it. (Mind you, I stated previously that you have a weakness to Water/Fighting. Heatran will not help with that. At all.)

This would probably be a good set for you as it will give you entry hazard support, something your team currently lacks. But, this brings me to a rather unfortunate part of this rate. You have some serious problems with your Pokemon that desperately need fixing if you ever want to survive in a competitive environment. Thunder Bolt..? On Bastiodon? I'm sorry, but that's just no good. Bastiodon has a lot more in its arsenal than that. I understand that Thunder Bolt sounds good for coverage, but in reality, Bastiodon can not use it with its dismal Special Attack. Now, a standard Bastiodon set could look like this: Iron Head / Toxic or Stone Edge or Earthquake / Stealth Rock / Taunt or Roar, a Careful [+Sp.Defense; -Sp.Attack] nature, 252 HP / 248 Sp.Defense / 8 Attack, and Leftovers. As you can see, this set is very similar to Heatran. Therefore, Heatran is the superior choice. Again, this all depends on what tier you want to play in.

All these things apply with your other Pokemon. Aggron shouldn't have Thunder, maybe Thunderwave, but not Thunder. It also shouldn't have a Brave nature as it doesn't bring out the best in Aggron. Now, I know very little about Aggron and his competitive value. And to me, even with the base 180 Defense, I see Aggron and I think, "Earthquake? Done." and "Focus Blast? Done". Its resistances just don't outweigh its inadequacies and in today's Metagame, Aggron just doesn't have the ability to witch in on a Choice equipped Physical Sweeper anymore. However, if you are dead set on using Aggron, the best I can recommend is: Substitute / Focus Punch / Stone Edge or Iron Head / Aqua Tail, 252 Attack / 252 Speed / 4 HP, Adamant [+Attack; -Sp.Attack] nature and Leftovers. If you want help finding a good, OU replacement for Aggron, just let us know and we'll be more than happy to help you.

The same can be said for Metagross. And unfortunately, there is much to be said about your set also. Metagross fails at attacking with Special Attacks (at least, when left to its own devices). ;[ It really does. So, Psychic and Shadow Ball are completely lost upon Metagross. The same applies for your Metagross' nature. Metagross works best when you don't add or subtract from any Defensive stat. With the recommendations I will be giving you, an Adamant nature will be in order. That way, you'll be adding 10% to the stat you use the most, and subtracting from the stat you don't use at all. Metagross likes having: Bullet Punch / Earthquake / Pursuit or Trick / Meteor Mash, 252 HP / 252 Attack / 4 Defense, an Adamant nature, and a Choice Band. This way, Meteor Mash and Earthquake have near perfect coverage, Earthquake hitting the three types that resist Meteor Mash. Pursuit can get those Lati twins,and Bullet Punch can make up for Metagross' "okay" Speed.

Well, there are still a few problems with this team, so I'll come back and finish this up when I find the time. Definitely edit your team with Gengar and Gardevoir's sets and we'll work from there.

For Heracross, use Stone Edge instead of Brick Break. Also, don't use Horn Attack or Giga Impact. Not only do they provide no coverage whatsoever, the latter leaves you a sitting duck. Use Night Slash or Pursuit.

Use Thunderbolt over ThunderPunch on Magmortar since T-bolt works off of Magmortar's better Special Attack. Brick Break and Earthquake are also redundant with one another (use Hidden Power (Grass/Ice instead of Earthquake).

Did you see the Aggron sets I posted earlier? Also, Aggron doesn't need max Defense. It also could use Head Smash in conjunction with Rock Head and Rock Polish to fix its bad Speed. It also shouldn't use Special attacks

Magnezone wants either Hp Ice or Fire. Since it can trap Steel types and then kill them with Hp Fire. Hp Ice is just so you could kill dragon and ground types, since you can't really harm them outside of Flash Cannon. Also; you really don't need to run 4/252/252 on everything. ):

Heracross wants Adamant/Choice Scarf, not Brave. ;-; and the Ev's need to be 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe. It can kill a lot of stuff with it's spread and moveset. Speaking of which, it could do with Megahorn/Close Combat/Stone Edge/Pursuit. So, overall your Heracross set should be;

The Aggron set you're running now has the wrong Ev's. Even with Rock Polish you will not hit a good speed at all with no Speed Ev's or speed boosting nature.

Your team now has an ugly weakness to Water and Fighting, as well as a 5x Ground weakness. \: If you're actually going to play OU, then, Aggron and Magmortar aren't as good in it. Even with both of them gone, Metagross, Heatran and Magnezone still give you a nasty weakness to Ground moves. I'd say get rid of Metagross and Magnezone and replace them. Something like Scizor could replace Metagross. Since it has the same base attack and gives you the STAB priority that your team really needs.

Heatran is really good, so replacing it would be kinda stupid. \: Magnezone could be replaced with something that gives you a Ground/Water/Fighting resistance, like Gyarados? ;;

I've rambled enough, I'll let someone else take over and suggests some Pokemon and the correct sets.

I know! Maybe I can replace Magnezone with Kingdra, Ground/Fighting/Water shouldn't do much. Is there a good replacement for Magmortar that's resists Ground/Fighting/Water?
No matter what reason, I will REFUSE to replace Metagross and Aggron.

I know! Maybe I can replace Magnezone with Kingdra, Ground/Fighting/Water shouldn't do much. Is there a good replacement for Magmortar that's resists Ground/Fighting/Water?
No matter what reason, I will REFUSE to replace Metagross and Aggron.

I know that Grass types resist Ground/Water/Fighting, but I couldn't find any good ones. Maybe I can add Sceptile as a replacement for Magmortar.
Help?

Salamence isn't Uber... Wait, are you playing 5th or 4th Gen? Sceptile is a bad choice over Magmortar. Grass doesn't resist Fighting. Sceptile has a very low defense stat meaning any strong fighting attack such as Close Combat, Drain Punch, Hi-Jump Kick etc will end it. There are better options for moves than Brine, btw. \; I'd take Platinumdudes advice and use the DD Kingdra.

Well.... I am playing in 5th AND 4th gen. so, yeah, I know, 5th gen. also has strong dudes like Gigalith, Conkeldurr, Darmanitan, etc., but I'm keeping it 4/3 gen. cause I haven't really gotten used to the kinds of Pokemon there yet.

Ok, Gyrados, got it, G-bye Kingdra
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Gyrados

-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Waterfall
-Dragon Tail/Roar

EVs: 248 HP/252 Def/8 SDef
__________________________

Aggron

EV's: 252 Attack/252 Speed/4 Defense
__________________________

Right now, I'm liking the look of Absol, but it is overpowered by Fighting types

It's kinda frustrating to go through serebii.net's Pokedex just to find a top-fighting/ground/water non-super effective pokemon...

But if they are just really bad, then fine, 5th gen.
Thanks you guys for the great help :D. I'm actually learning something at the same time

P.S I'm having trouble trying to find the right natured dittos. Modest and Adamant. I got every other besides them. Any suggestions?
Getting a pokemon with Syncronise or something with the same nature just turns into another problem. I have to find even more Pokemon. I need these dittos to breed a perfect natured Pokemon

Well.... I am playing in 5th AND 4th gen. so, yeah, I know, 5th gen. also has strong dudes like Gigalith, Conkeldurr, Darmanitan, etc., but I'm keeping it 4/3 gen. cause I haven't really gotten used to the kinds of Pokemon there yet.

Ok, Gyrados, got it, G-bye Kingdra
_______________________
Gyrados

-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Waterfall
-Dragon Tail/Roar

EVs: 248 HP/252 Def/8 SDef
__________________________

Right now, I'm liking the look of Absol, but it is overpowered by Fighting types :(

It's kinda frustrating to go through serebii.net's Pokedex just to find a top-fighting/ground/water non-super effective pokemon...

But if they are just really bad, then fine, 5th gen.
Thanks you guys for the great help :D. I'm actually learning something at the same time

Banette, Leavanny, Shedinja are all bad. Mismagius, Alakazam, Dusknoir are really only good to use in UU. Dragonite would be a nice contender, since it resists all 3. Bulky Scizor could also help you. Skarmory, as well.

Banette, Leavanny, Shedinja are all bad. Mismagius, Alakazam, Dusknoir are really only good to use in UU. Dragonite would be a nice contender, since it resists all 3. Bulky Scizor could also help you. Skarmory, as well.

Skarmory works best as a physical wall, not a sweeper. And besides, Flash Cannon isn't exactly a good option considering you have an attack like Brave Bird at your disposal. It's a great STAB attack, it hits hard, it plays to Skarmory's strengths, and Skamory can heal off the recoil with ease. Drill Peck can also be used if you don't like the recoil damage, but personally, I like Brave Bird. Also, Skarmory likes having EVs in HP and Defense (someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe a specially defensive variation of Skarmory is viable because of its typing) simply because it can take more hits, better. Shed Shell is listed because of Magnezone, but Leftovers is probably the best and most conventional option. This is by far the most effective set for Skarmory. Layer the Spikes, which Skarmory can do with ease, heal off any damage taken with Roost, phaze set-up sweepers with Whirlwind and deal entry hazard damage to the entire team, then attack when needed. Done.

I hope this was a bit helpful! Good luck to you. Also, when you're team is done, be sure to check out Pokemon Online to test it out!

Also, Skarmory doesn't really support your team very well, considering the number of Steel-types you have.

Could I see your team as it is envisioned after you finish reading this post?

Also, assuming this is your team:

Aggron
Metagross
Gyarados
Magmortar
Heatran
Heracross

You have a HUGE weakness to Ground, along with a fairly large one to Water, and STAB Fighting and Fire attacks aren't good for your team. So, basically, watch out for a team with both Infernape and Swampert/Gastrodon.

Also (and I'm sorry if this sounds rude), I thought you were hopeless when I saw your first post, but evidently you've made incredible strides. Good job!

Whew! Boy, I have a lot of catching, breeding, hatching, leveling in my real B/W-D/P game.

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Hello! You've improved this team a lot, so I thought I'd help.

Note: You didn't provide natures, abilities, or items.

Pokemon need items.

You're really so adamant about not replacing Aggron? It has 2 4x weaknesses and can't take adantage of Sturdy because it's so slow. I think Aggron is a bad Pokemon, even for NU. No offense.

Thanks! And I left the items, natures, and abilities because I don't really have the time to list all of them. Sorry, but now that I do have time, maybe I will relist the PKMN at the end of this post.

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Also, Skarmory doesn't really support your team very well, considering the number of Steel-types you have.

I am a steel type fanatic. I know that Dragonite is WAAY stronger than Skarmory, but I used Skarmory anyway.

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You have a HUGE weakness to Ground, along with a fairly large one to Water, and STAB Fighting and Fire attacks aren't good for your team. So, basically, watch out for a team with both Infernape and Swampert/Gastrodon.

Sadly, but I already know my strengths and weaknesses. Maybe I can take Magmortar/Skarmory out for Dragonite-despite your great response for Magmortar. I would have used him, but I am greatly outnumbered by ground/fire/water, so I have no choice, but to replace Skarmory with Dragonite instead. Bye Skarmory.

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Also (and I'm sorry if this sounds rude), I thought you were hopeless when I saw your first post, but evidently you've made incredible strides. Good job!

Skarmory works best as a physical wall, not a sweeper. And besides, Flash Cannon isn't exactly a good option considering you have an attack like Brave Bird at your disposal. It's a great STAB attack, it hits hard, it plays to Skarmory's strengths, and Skamory can heal off the recoil with ease. Drill Peck can also be used if you don't like the recoil damage, but personally, I like Brave Bird. Also, Skarmory likes having EVs in HP and Defense (someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe a specially defensive variation of Skarmory is viable because of its typing) simply because it can take more hits, better. Shed Shell is listed because of Magnezone, but Leftovers is probably the best and most conventional option. This is by far the most effective set for Skarmory. Layer the Spikes, which Skarmory can do with ease, heal off any damage taken with Roost, phaze set-up sweepers with Whirlwind and deal entry hazard damage to the entire team, then attack when needed. Done.

I hope this was a bit helpful! Good luck to you. Also, when you're team is done, be sure to check out Pokemon Online to test it out!

Thank you! But I'm not even sure if I'm using it at all. (I might sneak it into my team using you advice every once in awhile :D)

Relist of Current Team

^ = official member
X = unofficial member
s = substitution member
!!! = MUST REVISE
UNSURE MEMBER

s Aggron@ Leftovers
Rock Head
252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Joyful/Adamant
-Head Smash
-Earthquake
-Rock Polish
-Iron Tail/Aqua Tail
_________________________ Thanks for the help I think this would be a thread to remember-especially because this is the most anyone has ever posted on one that I made.
This experience of creating Pokemon sets had leveled me up! I am no longer a Battle Noob :D (I should get the level up emblem)
I can't thank you all enough for this accomplishment
By the way... Thanks!

Allow me to say, I am very, very happy that you decided to repost your team with the appropriate changes. Not a lot of people come back after the rates here give advice, and I think you're investment into your team is a reflection of how committed you are to competitive battling. I'm happy for you, and I also think you should be very proud of the team you have now. There are just a few things I'd like to cover with you first.. I highly recommend you try out this Team Builder. This will help you identify your teams threats by type. I think this will be a great asset for you and your competitive battling future! :D Now, let's move on.

Aggron is still UU and will probably always be UU. Unless it goes down a tier, of course. So, the question is, do you want a Pokemon that can replace Aggron? Because there are better options in the OU tier that do the same thing and have superior typing. This is completely up to you, as your team is now more prepared for a standard play environment. So if Aggron is your personal favorite Pokemon and you refuse to replace him with anything, that is fine. But, if you started battling competitively to win, and Aggron isn't working as it should, the raters here can suggest alternatives. Again, this is up to you. But, as far as your set is concerned, the only thing I have to say about it is; it's Jolly, not Joyful. :>

For Metagross: Just use Leftovers. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Leftovers heals 1/16 of your overall HP. The Shell Bell heals 1/16 of however much damage you deal during an attack. So Leftovers is always a better choice for it's consistency.

The Choice Band/Scarf is completely reasonable. There is a major deficit for using a Choice Item, but trust me, the benefits outweigh the shortcomings. Test it out, see if it works for you, if not, you can always try the Life Orb.

Okay, Heatran has excellent typing. But it does have a few disadvantages. Like, its weakness to Water, Fighting, and most importantly, Heatran's x4 weakness to Ground. This is where the Air Balloon comes in. When the Air Balloon is held by a Pokemon, that Pokemon is immune to Ground type attacks and Entry hazards until that Pokemon is hit with an Attack. So, let's say you switch your Heatran into a Forretress. Forretress has had time to lay Spikes and Toxic Spikes and whatever other entry hazards it sports, so, when you switch Heatran in, Heatran will not take damage from those hazards. Then, Forretress uses Earthquake! But tough cookies for Forretress, because your Heatran has an Air Balloon and is immune to Earthquake. However, if an opponent pops the Air Balloon, Heatran is subject to all Ground attacks and entry hazards, so you best predict the best time to use it. Long story short, the Air Balloon provides Heatran (or any other Pokemon you attach it to) an immunity from Ground type attacks for one turn, more often than not.

Your Gyarados set looks pretty good. The only thing I would do is replace Earthquake for Bounce or Ice Fang. The Water/Ground coverage is pretty mediocre. With Bounce, you'll have a good STAB attack, or with Ice Fang, you can deal with opposing Dragons. But it's not like Earthquake is the end of the world, you know?

Dragonite gets Multiscale. Which is infinitely superior to Inner Focus. It's really some of the very few things that separate Dragonite and Salamence. I recommend you revise your Dragonite set to something of a Bulky Attacking variant.

Roost and Multiscale make a particularly potent combination for preserving Dragonite's HP. Fire Punch will hit Bulky Grass types and Steel types. Now, some people will argue this, but I absolutely adore Dragonite with Extreme Speed. And it's excellent for picking off weakened opponents, but it can be replaced with Dragon Dance if you feel Dragonite needs the boost in Attack and Speed. Outrage / Dragon Claw are your best STAB options. However, if you're looking for an all out Attacking Dragon, you're best bet is with Salamence or Haxorus. Test it out, see how Dragonite works, and if you want suggestions for good Haxorus / Salamence sets than we'll be more than happy to help. :)

Now, you're team as a whole doesn't have too many crazy weaknesses that aren't checked in one way or another. I ran your team through the team builder I linked you to above and with Dragonite on the team, there are no outstanding weaknesses. However, with Skarmory replacing Dragonite, three of your Pokemon are weak to Fire. So you're going to have to play around with what works best for you. If Skarmory is amazing and you must have it on your team, than we can work something out to replace Metagross or Aggron so you have a nice balance. Go ahead and play test. Then come back and let us know how it went. From there, you'll have a better idea of what you want/experienced and the raters will be able to give you better advice because we'll have a more diverse field to work with!

Allow me to say, I am very, very happy that you decided to repost your team with the appropriate changes. Not a lot of people come back after the rates here give advice, and I think you're investment into your team is a reflection of how committed you are to competitive battling. I'm happy for you, and I also think you should be very proud of the team you have now. There are just a few things I'd like to cover with you first.. I highly recommend you try out this Team Builder. This will help you identify your teams threats by type. I think this will be a great asset for you and your competitive battling future! :D Now, let's move on.

Yeah, I figured, I see a bunch of other threads like this on this forum, and most don't go on that long. And about the reflection, well... not that much really. I just really hate to be called a noob all the time when I lose real badly to people on B/W Wi-Fi. (I used rare candies all the time until I learned about EV's in January and IV's 3 days ago.) I 'm learning to be more critical about the natures and a Pokemon's born higher stat and it's moves. Thanks for the Team Builder by the way, I remember using it one time, but I forgot the link.

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Aggron is still UU and will probably always be UU. Unless it goes down a tier, of course. So, the question is, do you want a Pokemon that can replace Aggron? Because there are better options in the OU tier that do the same thing and have superior typing. This is completely up to you, as your team is now more prepared for a standard play environment. So if Aggron is your personal favorite Pokemon and you refuse to replace him with anything, that is fine. But, if you started battling competitively to win, and Aggron isn't working as it should, the raters here can suggest alternatives. Again, this is up to you. But, as far as your set is concerned, the only thing I have to say about it is; it's Jolly, not Joyful. :>

Sigh... I guess I could replace Aggron, but I still might sneak it in every once in awhile. Just like Skarmory . Oh, and I just mixed up both of the "J-o's" J-o-lly, J-o-yful. See how it looks the same?

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For Metagross: Just use Leftovers. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Leftovers heals 1/16 of your overall HP. The Shell Bell heals 1/16 of however much damage you deal during an attack. So Leftovers is always a better choice for it's consistency.

No, your right I looked it up on serebii, and that's exactly what is says.

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The Choice Band/Scarf is completely reasonable. There is a major deficit for using a Choice Item, but trust me, the benefits outweigh the shortcomings. Test it out, see if it works for you, if not, you can always try the Life Orb.

Ok, I'll test it to see if it's OK

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Okay, Heatran has excellent typing. But it does have a few disadvantages. Like, its weakness to Water, Fighting, and most importantly, Heatran's x4 weakness to Ground. This is where the Air Balloon comes in. When the Air Balloon is held by a Pokemon, that Pokemon is immune to Ground type attacks and Entry hazards until that Pokemon is hit with an Attack. So, let's say you switch your Heatran into a Forretress. Forretress has had time to lay Spikes and Toxic Spikes and whatever other entry hazards it sports, so, when you switch Heatran in, Heatran will not take damage from those hazards. Then, Forretress uses Earthquake! But tough cookies for Forretress, because your Heatran has an Air Balloon and is immune to Earthquake. However, if an opponent pops the Air Balloon, Heatran is subject to all Ground attacks and entry hazards, so you best predict the best time to use it. Long story short, the Air Balloon provides Heatran (or any other Pokemon you attach it to) an immunity from Ground type attacks for one turn, more often than not.

Ahhhhh... that's why you gave it the Air Balloon. I'm hoping that hacking to get right natures, fast egg breeding, hatching, and all items still makes it fair for other people...

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Your Gyarados set looks pretty good. The only thing I would do is replace Earthquake for Bounce or Ice Fang. The Water/Ground coverage is pretty mediocre. With Bounce, you'll have a good STAB attack, or with Ice Fang, you can deal with opposing Dragons. But it's not like Earthquake is the end of the world, you know?

Ok, I'm going with Ice Fang
I'm going to edit the list after this post

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Dragonite gets Multiscale. Which is infinitely superior to Inner Focus. It's really some of the very few things that separate Dragonite and Salamence. I recommend you revise your Dragonite set to something of a Bulky Attacking variant.

Yeah, I know about that, but the only problem is that it's only found in the Dream World am I right?

Thanks for the Dragonite set by the way it proves extremely useful in my current team

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Nice Skarmory set!

Thanks

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Now, you're team as a whole doesn't have too many crazy weaknesses that aren't checked in one way or another. I ran your team through the team builder I linked you to above and with Dragonite on the team, there are no outstanding weaknesses. However, with Skarmory replacing Dragonite, three of your Pokemon are weak to Fire. So you're going to have to play around with what works best for you. If Skarmory is amazing and you must have it on your team, than we can work something out to replace Metagross or Aggron so you have a nice balance. Go ahead and play test. Then come back and let us know how it went. From there, you'll have a better idea of what you want/experienced and the raters will be able to give you better advice because we'll have a more diverse field to work with!
Good luck!

Actually, Aggron and Metagross is amazing to me :D
Thanks for your help!

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